In 2019, following a large increase in transgender youth in America and the benefits of gender affirming care through therapy coming forward, Colorado enacted a law about Minor Conversion Therapy, citing that mental health professionals are prohibited from undergoing conversion therapy with clients under the age of 18, except for therapists who are "engaged in the practice of religious ministry.” Conversion therapy is defined as mental health techniques designed to change a client’s gender or sexual expression. Colorado, instead, took a gender affirming approach and required counselors to affirm minor clients’ gender identity. However, some mental health professionals, specifically those who are faith-based, took issue with this law, feeling as though it overstepped by controlling how they engage with clients, making the practice of conversion therapy a "disciplinable offense,” as the law may, “ revoke, or suspend the provider’s license; issue a cease-and-desist order; or even impose an administrative fine up to $5,000 per violation.” Despite this, the MCTL had yet to be enforced against anyone at that point.
Kaley Chiles, a mental health professional in Colorado, runs her own private practice, and included in that is Christian-based counseling, which is done at the request of the client. She started practicing as a counselor in 2014, before the Minor Conversion Therapy law was established. Chiles has worked with adolescents before, specifically on the topic of gender identity and sexual orientation through talk therapy. She also believes that people "flourish" when they live in accordance with God’s design, and sees her counseling as a way to achieve this. However, Colorado issued a ban on “any practice,” including pure speech, that seeks to “change” an individual’s “gender expression,” “behavior,” or “gender identity.” When the law was put into place, Chiles refrained from engaging with minors in ways that she feared could be interpreted as conversion therapy and felt that the law put a strain on her counseling methods. Chiles filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against several of the state of Colorado officials responsible for putting the law into place in 2022. Chiles sued through the United States District Court for the District of Colorado under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which is a federal statute that allows individuals to sue state or local officials whom they believe are violating their constitutional or federal rights.
Chiles is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit organization specializing in First Amendment rights and religious liberty. Her main argument is that the MCTL infringes on her freedom of speech and free exercise of religion and forces her to choose between the Christian-based talk therapy she offers and beliefs and the professional license that comes into conflict with it. She argued that the law infringed her mission to help minor clients experiencing gender dysphoria “to live a life consistent with their faith.” There is an argument the case poses of whether or not what Chiles is doing counts as conversion therapy, as to her, she is simply using verbal inter-faith techniques to get clients to accept their bodies who consensually seek religious-affirming care. She also argued that the law doesn’t act on a compelling state interest in protecting minors from harm, as there’s a “lack of empirical evidence” of harm from talk therapy. There’s another argument posited that allows minors, with informed parental consent, to undergo treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy and medical marijuana, yet Colorado didn’t enact “state categorical bans.”
Chiles argued that speculation is not enough to justify such legal scrutiny, and the state’s right to regulate mental health conduct doesn’t give them the power to enact a gag order. However, the district court denied her request for an injunction on the basis that Chiles “failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits,” and that the law regulates conduct rather than speech and any imposing of freedom of speech was incidental. Chiles appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and the court held that Colorado’s state ban on conversion therapy was of state interest to protect minors from harmful therapeutic practices and maintain the integrity of professional mental health regulation. The court cited National Institute of Family & Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, in which two religiously affiliated pro-life entities in California that provide pregnancy related services had to, by Crisis Pregnancy Center Law, provide information about low-cost/free abortion services and other things that they claimed violated their views. They sued, but the court struck down their claim as they argued that some “professional conduct may be regulated by states even if this incidentally involves speech.” The court also stated that the MCTL did not reference a religion or any religious practices, and that conversion therapy simply being associated with religious practices doesn’t mean that religious neutrality is being violated. The case has since been appealed to the Supreme Court.
I agree with the court’s ruling as conversion therapy isn’t an inherently religious practice. Chiles is a Christian based mental health professional, and there are many ways to engage with clients in an inter-faith way that doesn’t necessarily include sexuality and gender expression. The MTCL also has state interest as the safety of minors is a factor. The court presented evidence of the harm of mental health professionals of using therapeutic techniques such as conversion therapy, which for some groups, involves a long and painful history. The protection of minors who, under parental request, could be subjected to conversion therapy nonconsensually overrules Chiles’ talk therapy being infringed upon, in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment